Category Archives: Product Review

Who couldn’t use an extra spice in their life … or at least in their cocktail? In Texas, it is completely acceptable to add salsa or peppers to most any dish, so why shouldn’t we do the same to our cocktails?

I recently had the privilege to try a liqueur made from poblano peppers, Ancho Reyes Verde, that just became available in Texas. For those of you who are already a fan of the original Ancho Reyes, this is its new, “fresher” counterpart.

Ancho Reyes Verde is made from the same poblano chile as the Ancho Reyes, but the peppers used are green chiles harvested a bit early, then roasted. The original uses the late-harvest, sun-dried peppers . The heat that comes from Ancho Reyes Verde seriously tastes like a freshly picked poblano pepper–it even smells fresh and earthy. Surprisingly, the liqueur has notes of ginger along with fruits like pineapple and a slight tomato flavor.

Both Original and Verde Ancho Reyes liqueurs are quite versatile, which makes it a perfect element for cocktails. Original mixes well with brown spirits, whereas the Ancho Reyes Verde seems to mix better with clear spirits. I personally loved the Verde in a cocktail, but the flavors when sipped alone were quite pronounced.

Yes, this is a booze blog. I hear you loud and clear … something seems a little weird here. BUT, I am known to DD from time to time and [GASP] … not drink. That said, I enjoy a nice drive every once in a while, and I was lucky enough to get a schmancy, brand new, fast as hell Lexus GS200t for my travels to the San Antonio Cocktail Conference last month. I’ll just say this: thanks to the car (and, sure, the company) I really enjoyed the drive.

This beauty got us there quickly (thank you, tollway around Austin!) and with an surprisingly small amount of gas. From Dallas we were able to drive to San Antonio and a quarter of the way back on one tank. The handling was also second to none, which is helpful since its acceleration is also impressive thanks to the 241 horsepower in the engine that got us up and moving to 60mph in just 7 seconds. (Ok, we didn’t test that feature … but we were tempted.)

Courtesy of AutoTrader.com

So we’re checking boxes: fast, fuel efficient, handles like a dram dream … but this baby is more than just performance. The inside of the car is more like a cockpit than a car thanks to the seemingly endless features, and was much more spacious than expected. The trunk alone could have fit nine, maybe ten cases of wine and my two yoga mats. (Because that’s how I measure.)

Courtesy of carwallpaper.org

The hardest part of the week with this car has been the time since they took it back … my neighbor that I park across from just got a brand new one–black exterior, black interior, just totally sexy. And I have to see it every damn day when I back into my garage. (Talk about torture.)

In general, especially for a low emission sedan, this car really raises the bar.

Before it really took off, I remember how excited I used to get for winter offerings like Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale and Shiner Cheer. They weren’t the best beers in the world, but they were part of the season – basically the bro version of PSLs (that then mutated into basically an extension PSLs as the market became overrun with seasonal stuff, but that’s a whole other thing.) Now that everything is flavored for the holidays with the same dash of chemicals, finding something that stands out in this group is very hard.

In a seemingly unrelated note, when Susie offered me the chance to try CALI, a new whiskey from Sukkah Hill Spirits, I perked up. First, the idea of beach whiskey is just wonderful to me, but it’s also not like this is two surfers distilling in a bathtub. They turn out highly rated, award winning liqueurs and did not seem like the type to take branching into such a competitive area lightly. If you’d like to learn more about them, this November Q&A from Saloon Box is a great place to start.

The backstory also touched my heart – husband and wife make booze, wife loves whiskey, husband decides they need to make something delicious they can both sip together. It’s a tale as old as time…or something. So, on a nice January day, I opened my sample bottle, sat down on the patio (go Texas winter weather!), took a few sips then immediately picked up my phone and texted Susie a photo and a rambling explanation of how good this was.

The whiskey was very smooth and, despite not being intended as such, had a distinct holiday flavor – led by cinnamon and all spice, but not in that Fireball sense we’ve all become accustomed to tasting everywhere. There were also hints of baked apple, nutmeg and other spices – but again, I have to stress that none of it was too sweet or overpowering. The result was incredibly easy to drink and, while I was told the whiskey was perfect for a hot toddy, it was 70 degrees and I was enjoying it neat too much to consider anything else. This was the exact same feeling I got from those first sips of Celebration and Cheer – something unique to the season that was just fun to drink. It wasn’t officially a winter whiskey, but the spices and flavors line up well with the holiday season.

Right now, CALI whiskey is only being sent for reviews as they prepare to make the product available sometime this spring, but this is definitely a bottle to keep an eye out for as it becomes available.

I have strong, gag-inducing memories of me and my brother dabbling in the ’90s versions of flavored vodkas, which weren’t as much about using real ingredients as just shoving artificial flavoring at you until you were convinced it did the trick. These were usually mixed with Sprite or Surge (shut up) and the whole process was just a bad hangover kit waiting to ruin your Friday-Monday mornings.

With this memory deeply rooted in my psyche, I agreed to revisit some of the flavors offered by the folks at Deep Eddy and try them in a few recipes.

If you’re not familiar with Deep Eddy Vodka and are reading a blog about drinking in Dallas, I both admire your ability to live under a rock and encourage you to visit their website. Their vodka is made here in Texas and is distilled in small batches that incorporate natural ingredients into their flavors. For this review, we were provided their Original, Cranberry, Lemon and Peach. (They also offer Ruby Red and Sweet Tea.)

To start, I asked a few friends to join me in trying each spirit neat. Each flavor stood up pretty well on its own, but the peach and lemon were the easiest to drink straight. Then we mixed each with soda water and added lime or lemon. The group’s favorites basically came down to personal flavor preferences. If you’re wondering at home, my favorite was the peach, but the plain vodka and a twist worked as well.

The next recipe was a shandy. I made mine a little stronger and, while it wasn’t my thing, the shandy drinkers in the group were happy. We also tried it with a Mexican lager and lime, which was also a great combination.

Lemon Shandy
12 oz wheat beer
1 oz Deep Eddy Lemon

Next up was a red-hued take on a Moscow Mule. The ginger beer and the vodka mix a little sweet together, but pulling back on the ginger beer and adding a bit more lime helped.

Finally, speaking of more complex drinks, we made the Southern Belle. This was a tad sweet, which was expected as the peach flavor has about twice the sugar as the other vodka flavors according to the website.

One thing I noticed in general is that these spirits, while not sweet, tip that direction really fast when mixed with other sugary ingredients. Again, the spirit stands on its own without much else, but if you’re going to make complex drinks, the plain flavor might be your best bet. When I asked for final thoughts, the biggest skeptic in the group commented how nice it was to be able to drink flavored vodka that didn’t make her feel like a sugary mess after each drink.

No matter where you are or what you’re looking for, Deep Eddy has a vodka flavor to fit your taste and is now available in all 50 states. Use their locator to find a bar or retail store near you … and then just remember to day drink responsibly.

JARDESCA is a new aperitif out of Sonoma, CA offering a blend of three sweet and dry white wines, which is then fortified with a double distilled grape brandy and ten different botanicals. I know that sounds like a lot in one product, but it all comes together to create a beautifully refreshing libation.

It’s different than your normal fruity, white wine because it is meant as an opening drink before you have your main drink with lunch or dinner. So now it’s totally appropriate to drink before you drink – especially considering it’s lower calorie! They suggest you serve it over ice as it has a light flavor profile–hints of pink peppercorn, bay leaf, and grapefruit. However, you can enhance it with your own favorite herb or fruit garnish, or follow one of their suggested recipes (see below).

JARDESCA Garden Spritz3 ounces of JARDESCA in a stemless wine glass
Splash of prosecco or sprarkling waterSlice of blood orangeSprig of fresh rosemary

Pour JARDESCA over ice, then stir once. Top with a splash of soda water or sparkling wine and garnish with blood orange and rosemary sprig.

JARDESCA has recently been accepted to all the Whole Foods Stores in Texas and will be available beginning in March – just in time for those spring get-togethers!

To me, it always seemed that tequila was the shot you ordered after you had a few too many and needed an excuse for eating late night pizza. After my night of tequila tasting with Milagro Tequila, the spirit is so much more to me.

The night was an in depth look into the smells and tastes of different types of tequila. Before tasting anything, we were given an aroma kit with samples of all the different notes you get from tequila. (I think of doing this when tasting wine, but not tequila.) The twelve aromas ranged from lemongrass and pineapple all the way to black pepper.

Now, Milagro is no ordinary Tequila. When the owners tasted the final product, they said it was a miracl (hence the name Milagro). The owners wanted to pay homage to the heritage of tequila, and it shows in the process. This tequila is made from 100% blue agave tequila from the Jalisco Highlands. (Blue agave is sweeter and creates a more fruity and aromatic tequila.) The master distiller employs a century old cooking method using a traditional hand built brick oven. The agave is slow-roasted for 36 hours. That is a long time in the tequila world, but it creates a much better tequila. Once the agave is roasted, it goes into Milagro’s two pot system for the distillation, a pot still and a column still. The column still creates the smoothness found in Milagro.

Curious as to how good Milagro really is? Milagro entered the San Francisco World spirit competition in 2007. The Select Barrel Reserve Repasado was awarded best of show. Not only did it beat out other tequilas- but rums, gins, and vodkas. Milagro currently has more awards than any other tequilas. Milagro ranges from $37 for Milagro Silver to $102 for the Select Barrel Reserve Anejo. My personal favorite is the Milagro Añejo. It has been aged in American oak barrels between fourteen and twenty-four months. This aging process gives this tequila a spicy and savory taste.

It’s hard to believe there was a time when pumpkin spice wasn’t a meme, but an actual source of excitement. I think my first taste of getting genuinely geeked out about the flavor was when pumpkin cheesecake showed up at a Thanksgiving dinner when I was a kid. The questions were instant–“Who put these tastes together? Why is cinnamon/pumpkin/spice so freaking good? How do I get more? Is there still going to be a pumpkin pie?”

The rarity was a huge part of the appeal, and as pumpkin-everything creeped into our lives, the rush was gone. I think my breaking point was bringing home pumpkin spiced goat cheese from a New England supermarket and my daughter asking why it existed. “Because they know I’ll buy it, you smart-mouthed kid.” I vowed that 2016 would be a year of pumpkin spiced moderation. I got one beer on draft early and nodded in approval. I have had one pumpkin-spiced coffee this year. (I did eat a tub of pumpkin cookie butter from Trader Joe’s, but I’m only human.)

That’s why I had to chuckle when I was asked to review Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast – it was like the Captain himself heard about my Halloween Humbugness and decided to intervene. The pumpkin spiced shot comes in a round bottle making its best effort at looking like a pumpkin, and it makes a perfect centerpiece for any Halloween party bar … if you’re into that sort of decor. It’s the first pumpkin spiced rum on the market and is designed to be everything from a chilled shot to an ingredient in a few fall cocktail recipes.

I’ll be honest, I braced myself to taste something closer to egg nog with a heavy pumpkin flavor before pouring it out (full disclosure – my first sip was out of the container because it felt cool in the moment) and was surprised to get a decent amount of cinnamon and spice along with the pumpkin. It was lighter than I expected, which made it easier to mix into drinks.

The crowd favorite was what the good folks at Captain Morgan call the Apple Jack-O (recipe below). We dubbed it the Jack-O’Blast n’ Cider. (Say it quickly … a few times. Get it now?) Either way, the reviews were positive and my wife said that this should be flasked and kept on-hand for all fall/holiday activities that involve walking around outside. I tried a splash in coffee and, while it wasn’t bad, decided this was best for cold drinks. (And that’s probably why there is a huge “best served chilled” suggestion all over it.)

All in all, if you’re a pumpkin person, you can get a lot of mileage out of this product. If you’ve hit your limit on all things pumpkin, skip the shot and make the cider cocktail or try making a spiced version of a dark and stormy or something similar.

You can find Jack-O’Blast at most liquor stores.

I want to start out by confessing: I’m still not sure how to pronounce the name of this vodka. VDKA6100 even devotes a section on their website to explaining how they got their name–it’s the distance between the territorial waters of New Zealand, from which the product is sourced, to those of the United States, where the brand was born, is 6,100 miles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t give any clues as to how one might pronounce it. Ultimately, I concluded it doesn’t really matter; you can call it whatever you want, and it’s not going to change the fact that this is a damn fine vodka.

VDKA6100 is made in Reproof, near Lake Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand. Their vodka is produced using fresh, seasonal whey sourced from the Bay of Plenty Region. That whey is fermented using a rare strain of yeast, imported from Ireland over 30 years ago.

Given the purity of the ingredients, VDKA6100 requires limited distilling in order to ensure the character of the vodka is retained. VDKA6100 is filtered through carbon “rockets” (I hope these are half as cool as I’m imagining) and blended with locally sourced New Zealand spring water. The result is a vodka that is sugar-free, gluten-free, lactose-free (because …. vodka), and free from chemical additives.

Before experimenting with any cocktails, I decided to try VDKA6100 straight up in order to form a real opinion on the quality of the vodka. Right away, I noticed the lack of that all-too-familiar burn that accompanies so many lesser vodkas. VDKA6100, on the other hand, was silky smooth with a very soft mouth feel. I initially noted a crisp citrus flavor and a faint but pleasant hint of vanilla with a kick of peppery spice on the finish.

VDKA6100 is perfect for crafting the classic martini. (I think James Bond would agree.)

VDKA 6100 Martini2.5oz of VDKA 6100
0.5oz dry vermouth

Glassware: Martini glass
Garnish: Lemon twist

Combine VDKA 6100, dry vermouth and ice in a cocktail shaker, Sitr until cold, Strain into a martini glass. Top with a lemon twist.